ABSTRACT: Of the two contracts between the City and Mark Alcock, forensic examiner, one contract is for payment of up to $25,000, dated February 25, 2013, and another contract is for payment of up to $25,000. At the 10 September 2013 City Council meeting, the City Council unanimously approved a contract amendment to “
continue support services and IT consulting to continue the ongoing examination of the city’s IT infrastructure and related technology needs” with payment up to $43,500 and another contract amendment for “
ongoing IT professional examiner services” with payment up to $60,000. According to the search warrant issued by the Honorable Judge Robert O’Farrell and served at McInchak’s residence on June 5, 2013, Carmel Police detective Rachelle Lightfoot declared “
under penalty of perjury” that Alcock told her he was hired by the city on February 27 “
to do an examination of McInchak’s work computer,” and that his investigation began on March 6, when he went to McInchak’s office to examine his desktop computer while administrative services director Susan Paul and Carmel Police Chief Mike Calhoun stood by. “
Alcock told me that he had been working with McInchak under the ruse that he was conducting an audit of the city’s computer system and servers,” she wrote in the warrant, according to reporting in The Carmel Pine Cone. However, today, according to reporting in The Carmel Pine Cone, City Administrator Jason Stilwell said this week that the February 25 contract was for Alcock’s “
risk assessment” of the city’s system, not for his investigation into McInchak’s alleged wrongdoing. For that forensic work, Stilwell said, a second $25,000 contract was drawn. “We originally brought Alcock on to survey our system, and we needed someone expert on technology to be able to do a risk assessment of our computer system and the network and applications, hardware, software and user support,” he said. “That was originally why he came in.” According to Stilwell,
a second contract was drafted later, after Alcock uncovered McInchak’s alleged nefarious computer activity. “
We also needed his forensic services to support the investigation,” he said. “So we hired him to do that, too,” because the district attorney’s office did not have anyone available to do the work.
Conclusion:
City Administrator Jason Stilwell’s account that the February 25
contract was for “risk assessment” of the city’s system, not an investigation
into McInchak’s alleged wrongdoing, is contradicted by Officer Rachelle
Lightfoot’s declaration, made “under penalty of perjury” in the Search Warrant Affidavit, that Mark
Alcock told her that her was hired by the City on February 27 “to do an examination of McInchak’s work
computer,” that his investigation began on March 6, and “Alcock told me that he
had been working with McInchak under the ruse that he was conducting an audit
of the city’s computer system and servers.”
Relevant excerpts from the SEARCH WARRANT and The Carmel Pine Cone
article entitled “Expert to get $103K for McInchak, audit of city computers,” MARY
SCHLEY, The Carmel Pine Cone, September 13, 2013, are presented.
SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA County of Monterey, SEARCH WARRANT
(Warrant No. 7682)
Affiant Officer Rachelle Lightfoot, Carmel Police Department, declared “under penalty of perjury that the information within my personal knowledge contained in this affidavit, including all incorporated documents, is true…, dated 6-5-13
On Tuesday, 05-28-13, at approximately 1000 hours, I was contacted by Commander Paul Tomasi of the Carmel Police Department in regards to possible misconduct of another city employee, Steve Mclnchak. Commander Tomasi told me that Mclnchak was suspected of using his position as Information Systems/Network Manager to access sensitive information from the city's computers. Commander Tomasi advised that the city had hired an outside Forensic Examiner to gather proof and facts. He asked that I contact the examiner and initiate an investigation.
On Wednesday, 05-29-13, At approximately 1100 hours, I met with Forensic Examiner, Mark Alcock, in my office. During introductions, Alcock told me that on 02-27-13, he was retained by the city of Carmel to do an examination of Mclnchak's work computer. Alcock told me that his credentials included being a retired police officer and had been examining computers since 1994. His job included identifying, preserving and recovering data from digital media devices, including computers, lap tops and personal digital assistants (PDAs),that may have been linked to or used in a crime. He told me that he also testified in court about information that was found or recovered and was considered an "expert" in his field by superior court standards.
Alcock told me that his investigation started on 03-06-13, when he went to Mclnchak office located at Vista Lobos (Torres & 3rd) to search his desk top computer. He was accompanied by City Human Resources Director, Susan Paul and Police Chief Michael Calhoun. Mclnchak was not present at the time.
Alcock provided me with Carmel's City Policy and Procedure Data Sheet and pointed out where it stated that city management had a right to access and monitor employee computers as needed and that the systems were restricted to city business. It stated that there was no expectation of privacy to extend to work related conduct or to the use of city owned equipment or supplies, that the information systems manager was to act under administrative direction, and that the use of access codes of other employees to gain access to their e-mail and phone messages, or any computer account was prohibited except by management Mclnchak's position was not considered a management position.
Alcock told me that he had been working with Mclnchak under the ruse that he was conducting an audit of the City's computer system and servers, and in conversation, got Mclnchak to admit that he frequently remotely accessed the city server from his home computer and lap top. Alcock said that from what he observed, this was a direct violation of policy. From their conversation, Alcock suspected that there was sensitive information that had been downloaded to Mclnchak's personal desk top just like his work computer.
Source: SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA
County of Monterey
SEARCH WARRANT
Warrant No. 7682
At that time, The Pine Cone
requested a copy of the contract with Alcock and received a heavily redacted
agreement dated Feb. 25 that contained nothing more than generic language
present in all city contracts. Even the “work product” he was to provide was
redacted by public officials and attorneys.
But Stilwell said this week that
contract was for Alcock’s “risk assessment” of the city’s system, not for his
investigation into McInchak’s alleged wrongdoing. For that forensic work,
Stilwell said, a second $25,000 contract was drawn.
“We originally brought Alcock on to
survey our system, and we needed someone expert on technology to be able to do
a risk assessment of our computer system and the network and applications,
hardware, software and user support,” he said. “That was originally why he came
in.”
According to Stilwell, a second
contract was drafted later, after Alcock uncovered McInchak’s alleged nefarious
computer activity. “We also needed his forensic services to support the investigation,”
he said. “So we hired him to do that, too,” because the district attorney’s
office did not have anyone available to do the work.
But in the search warrant served at
McInchak’s home, Carmel Police detective Rachelle Lightfoot said Alcock told
her he was hired by the city on Feb. 27 “to do an examination of McInchak’s
work computer,” and that his investigation began on March 6, when he went to
McInchak’s office to examine his desktop computer while administrative services
director Susan Paul and Carmel Police Chief Mike Calhoun stood by.
“Alcock told me that he had been
working with McInchak under the ruse that he was conducting an audit of the
city’s computer system and servers,” she wrote in the warrant, which was served
June 5 and returned to the court, with the list of confiscated items, June 13.
Source:
Expert to get $103K for McInchak, audit of city computers
By MARY SCHLEY, The Carmel Pine Cone, September 13, 2013
ADDENDUM:
At the Sept. 10 council meeting, the council OK’d increasing Alcock’s two contracts — which were originally approved outside the public eye — to $43,000 and $63,000, respectively. He has already received three payments totaling $43,984, though they did not appear in the city’s check register until months later.
Stilwell could offer no explanation for their delay, nor could he explain why only one contract was provided to The Pine Cone when two had been signed.
Source:
Expert to get $103K for McInchak, audit of city computers
By MARY SCHLEY, The Carmel Pine Cone, September 13, 2013
126240 5/8/2013 MARK ALCOCK 10,958.00 01 67053 CONTRACTUAL SERVICES
126410 6/5/2013 MARK ALCOCK 10,316.00 01 67053 CONTRACTUAL SERVICES
Vendor Total -----> $21,274.00
Note: Check Register June 16 - 30, 2013
126625 6/19/2013 MARK ALCOCK $ 21,710.00 01 67053 CONTRACTUAL SERVICES-IT SUPPORT
Vendor Total----->$ 21,710.00
Note: July 2013 Check Register
